Harry Levy-Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham
Encyclopedia
Sir Harry Lawson Webster Levy-Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham GCMG, CH
, TD
, JP
, DL
, (18 December 1862 – 20 July 1933) was a British newspaper proprietor and a Liberal Unionist
politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1885 and 1916 when he inherited his peerage
.
and his wife Harriette Georgiana Webster. His name was legally changed from Levy to Levy-Lawson on 11 December 1875. He was educated at Cheam School, Headley, Berkshire, Eton
and Balliol College, Oxford
. He became a lieutenant in the Royal Bucks Yeo. Cav., treasurer of the Free Land League, vice president of the Municipal Reform League, and a member of the Executive Committee of Municipal Federation League. In 1891, he was admitted to the Inner Temple
, entitling him to practice as a barrister.
Levy-Lawson was elected Member of Parliament
(MP) for St Pancras West
in the 1885 general election
at the age of 23 but lost the seat in the 1892 general election
. He was also a member of the London County Council
from 1889 to 1892, for St Pancras (West)
.
He was returned to the Commons as MP for Cirencester
at a by-election in 1893 and held the seat until his defeat at the 1895 general election
. In 1905 he was elected at a by-election as MP for Mile End
and lost the seat in 1906
, regaining it in January 1910. In the interim he was Mayor of Stepney between 1907 and 1909.
Levy-Lawson served in the First World War in the Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry
. He gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was mentioned in despatches. In 1916 on the death of his father he succeeded to the titles of Baron Burnham
and the baronetcy and took his seat in the House of Lords
. He also succeeded his father in the management and ownership of the Daily Telegraph. He was decorated with the Territorial Decoration
(TD) and became Honorary Colonel of the 99th (Bucks and Berks Yeomanry) Brigade, Royal Artillery. He was invested as a Companion of Honour (CH) in 1917 and was created 1st Viscount Burnham of Hall Barn in the County of Buckingham, on 16 May 1919. He was a JP and Deputy Lieutenant for Buckinghamshire. He received a number of honorary doctorates from McGill University
, Montreal in 1920, Durham University
in 1921 Athens University, Greece in 1924, University of Western Australia
, Perth, Australia in 1925, Ghent University
, Belgium, in 1927 and Cambridge University. He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross, GCMG in 1927. In 1928 he sold the Daily Telegraph to Lord Camrose
.
When he died, aged 70, Levy-Lawson had no surviving male issue and the viscountcy became extinct. His younger brother succeeded to the baronetcy and barony. He was buried on 24 July 1933 at Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
Levy-Lawson married Olive de Bathe, daughter of General Sir Gerald Henry Perceval de Bathe, 4th Bt
and Charlotte Clare, on 2 January 1884 at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
, TD
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
, JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
, (18 December 1862 – 20 July 1933) was a British newspaper proprietor and a Liberal Unionist
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1885 and 1916 when he inherited his peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
.
Biography
Levy-Lawson was born at St. Pancras, London, the son of Sir Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron BurnhamEdward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham
Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham KCVO , known as Sir Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baronet, from 1892 to 1903, was a British newspaper proprietor....
and his wife Harriette Georgiana Webster. His name was legally changed from Levy to Levy-Lawson on 11 December 1875. He was educated at Cheam School, Headley, Berkshire, Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
. He became a lieutenant in the Royal Bucks Yeo. Cav., treasurer of the Free Land League, vice president of the Municipal Reform League, and a member of the Executive Committee of Municipal Federation League. In 1891, he was admitted to the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
, entitling him to practice as a barrister.
Levy-Lawson was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for St Pancras West
St Pancras West (UK Parliament constituency)
St. Pancras West was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election and...
in the 1885 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
at the age of 23 but lost the seat in the 1892 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1892
The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...
. He was also a member of the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
from 1889 to 1892, for St Pancras (West)
St Pancras West (UK Parliament constituency)
St. Pancras West was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election and...
.
He was returned to the Commons as MP for Cirencester
Cirencester (UK Parliament constituency)
Cirencester was a parliamentary constituency in Gloucestershire. From 1571 until 1885, it was a parliamentary borough, which returned two Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1868, and one member between 1868 and 1885...
at a by-election in 1893 and held the seat until his defeat at the 1895 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1895
The United Kingdom general election of 1895 was held from 13 July - 7 August 1895. It was won by the Conservatives led by Lord Salisbury who formed an alliance with the Liberal Unionist Party and had a large majority over the Liberals, led by Lord Rosebery...
. In 1905 he was elected at a by-election as MP for Mile End
Mile End (UK Parliament constituency)
Mile End was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Mile End district of the East End of London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
and lost the seat in 1906
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
, regaining it in January 1910. In the interim he was Mayor of Stepney between 1907 and 1909.
Levy-Lawson served in the First World War in the Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry
Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry
The Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry was formed in 1794, when King George III was on the throne and William Pitt the Younger was the Prime Minister, of Great Britain. Across the English Channel, Britain was faced by a French nation which had recently guillotined its King and which possessed a...
. He gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was mentioned in despatches. In 1916 on the death of his father he succeeded to the titles of Baron Burnham
Baron Burnham
Baron Burnham, of Hall Barn in the Parish of Beaconsfield in the County of Buckingham, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1903 for the influential newspaper magnate Sir Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baronet, owner of the Daily Telegraph...
and the baronetcy and took his seat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. He also succeeded his father in the management and ownership of the Daily Telegraph. He was decorated with the Territorial Decoration
Territorial Decoration
The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
(TD) and became Honorary Colonel of the 99th (Bucks and Berks Yeomanry) Brigade, Royal Artillery. He was invested as a Companion of Honour (CH) in 1917 and was created 1st Viscount Burnham of Hall Barn in the County of Buckingham, on 16 May 1919. He was a JP and Deputy Lieutenant for Buckinghamshire. He received a number of honorary doctorates from McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, Montreal in 1920, Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
in 1921 Athens University, Greece in 1924, University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
, Perth, Australia in 1925, Ghent University
Ghent University
Ghent University is a Dutch-speaking public university located in Ghent, Belgium. It is one of the larger Flemish universities, consisting of 32,000 students and 7,100 staff members. The current rector is Paul Van Cauwenberge.It was established in 1817 by King William I of the Netherlands...
, Belgium, in 1927 and Cambridge University. He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross, GCMG in 1927. In 1928 he sold the Daily Telegraph to Lord Camrose
William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose
William Ewart Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose was a British newspaper publisher.The second of three brothers born in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, Berry started his working life as a journalist and established his own paper, Advertising World, in 1901...
.
When he died, aged 70, Levy-Lawson had no surviving male issue and the viscountcy became extinct. His younger brother succeeded to the baronetcy and barony. He was buried on 24 July 1933 at Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
Levy-Lawson married Olive de Bathe, daughter of General Sir Gerald Henry Perceval de Bathe, 4th Bt
De Bathe Baronets
The de Bathe baronetcy was created on 7 July 1801 for James de Bathe. It became extinct upon the death of the sixth baronet in 1941-de Bathe Baronets of Knightstown, County Meath :*Sir James Michael de Bathe, 1st Baronet...
and Charlotte Clare, on 2 January 1884 at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster